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Why are politicians ignoring the math and the desire of the American public? A recent Gallup pollfound that out of a list of 12 policy issues, Americans cited restoring a strong economy and job market as the number one priority for President Obama in his second term. The economy, jobs and the role of government were the central issue in the government election, yet listening to the President’s big government Inauguration speech, the deficit and jobs were barely mentioned. I expected more given four years of stunted job growth, rising debt, and a January 2013 Government Accountability Report starkly declaring that “absent policy changes – the federal government continues to face an unsustainable path.”

What can be done to fix our current economic downturn and cut the deficit? Congress will have to lead on the big issues. The Simpson Bowles Commission, created by President Obama, proposed a reasonable set of shared pain proposals that are a great starting point for debate. But even without Simpson Bowles, here are a few common-sense proposals which would reverse the “new normal” with policies focused on economic growth.

1. Promote economic growth through innovation. Just as we saw at the 2013 International CES®, innovation and start-ups fuel our economic growth. They are the ultimate job creators who start with ingenious ideas, take risks and create value for the American consumer. Our nation has been built by encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation. Especially in our current economic downturn, it is crucial that we pursue national policies that promote innovation to ensure that there will be enough prosperity to carry on into the next generation.

2. Strategic immigration reform. As other countries aggressively reach out to skilled immigrants, we have made it more difficult for foreign entrepreneurs to come to and stay in America. Our refusal to let more highly skilled immigrants into America is costing jobs, delaying economic recovery and harming our international leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship. We should grant automatic green cards to STEM graduate students from U.S. universities and pass the Dream Act to allow law-abiding people brought to the U.S. as children to become citizens. The Startup Act is another common sense measure that would create green cards for immigrants who register through a business and meet employment and investment benchmarks in the U.S. We should work to expand and remove the country caps on H1-B visas and fix the EB-5 program, which would give visas to immigrants who invest at least $500,000 and create at least 10 jobs.

3.End the war on drugs. We have spent billions, incarcerated millions and made the situation worse. Why not follow Spain’s lead and treat the addicted and decriminalize and tax marijuana? Evidence shows that legalization does not add to drug use and can generate large revenues. Economists have estimated that legalizing marijuana would save the government $7.7 billion per year on enforcement. Of this savings, $5.3 billion would go to state and local governments, while $2.4 billion would be accrued to the federal government. Two states who voted recently to legalize marijuana, Colorado and Washington, are expected to bring in $550 million in revenue combined.

4. Require unemployed workers to volunteer. We encourage unemployment by rewarding the unemployed. All research shows the longer the unemployment payments the longer the jobless stay jobless. By shortening the duration of unemployment insurance and requiring those receiving checks to volunteer at a non-profit, both parties can benefit. By contributing to society, they can gain skills, contacts and references that will help them be successful in the next job they attain and in turn, we would see fewer people claiming unemployment.

5. Cut health care costs. Let’s be honest about our ability to afford Social Security and Medicare and means test based on wealth – including assets. We simply can’t afford to pay for these any more. We can stop incentivizing doctors to use the most expensive drugs. Many doctors are paid a percentage of the cost of the drugs they use. If we ban drug company rebates to doctors and pay by the injection rather than the cost of the drugs, then we will cut Medicare spending. We must also allow Americans to buy prescription drugs from overseas. Thanks to the deal that the White House cut with drug companies, we have a wall around our nation for imported drugs and every nation in the world pays a lot less for the same drugs. We will save billions if we can pay what any other country pays.

6. Remove unnecessary and unclear laws. Industries often set international standards for testing and measurement, but the Department of Energy (DoE), flush with cash, seems intent on hiring consultants to create new and redundant test procedures. For example, there are industry standards for measuring energy usage in TVs and cable set-top boxes. Current DoE rulemakings waste taxpayer money reinventing the wheel. In addition, these new laws can also be ambiguous, making it harder for businesses to know if they are violating the laws. Government prosecutors have made their reputation at the agencies like the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Fish and Wildlife Service by threatening legal action against great companies like Boeing, Gibson and Google. Unfair laws like these waste government resources and hurt the competitiveness of U.S. companies.

Along with these pro-growth proposals, we should incentivize Congress to cut the deficit. Today, the House is set to vote on a proposal to tie Congressional pay to an approved Congressional budget. That is a simple but big step. Our nation is in huge financial trouble. Our soldiers are the only ones sacrificing. It’s time our generation stopped giving itself goodies we cannot afford and took some steps to cut the deficit and these six ideas are just one way to start.